Former Forest Hills Central standout Cam White has recovered from a knee injury that ended his college career at Hillsdale, to signing a free-agent contract last with the Indianapolis Colts. Photo courtesy Patrick Heckenlively | Hillsdale College

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Cam White hasn’t paid attention to the odds since he injured both knees his senior season at Hillsdale College – a good call because he just signed a free agent contract with the Indianapolis Colts.

White’s senior season, by the way, was in 2012. It has taken the Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central graduate a year and a half to get from carefully walking through commence to currently going through voluntary workouts with the NFL team.

“There really wasn’t a question of not pursuing it,” White said of his dream to play in the NFL. “After it (knee injury) happened, I talked with my parents, hooked up with PowerStrength and got after it.”

Along the way, White has transformed himself. He was a 6-foot-2, 236-pound H-back and receiver at Hillsdale and is now a 250-pound fullback able to deadlift 675 pounds.

Coming off an All-GLIAC junior season, White’s 2012 with Hillsdale looked promising. He had 38 catches for 443 yards and five touchdowns through seven games before he injured both knees in the eighth game in October. He required surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL; his college season and career were over.

Cam White (Hillsdale College)

He graduated in December and began rehab in January, 2013 with PowerStrength Training Systems in Grand Rapids, which is co-owned by fellow Hillsdale alum Jared Veldheer of the Arizona Cardinals.

“There are tons of guys who train like Tarzan but play like Jane once they get on the field. I’ve seen these types of ‘workout warriors’ and found out they spend most of the game on the sidelines for one reason or another. However, Cam White isn’t one of these guys. His mentality on the field is just as intense, if not more so, than in the gym.”

Understandably, no one took a chance on him last season. Too soon after surgery. But the process greatly accelerated this spring. He attended a regional combine in Chicago in March – which cost him $245 to try out - which led to an invitational to a super regional combine in Detroit on April 12-13. He impressed enough that the next day he got a call from the Colts, asking him to come to Indianapolis for a tryout April 17.

“I worked out, took a physical and when I got back (to the workout field) they asked me if I wanted to sign a free agent contract, which, of course, I did,” White said. “So I signed, came home to be with family for Easter and now I’m back here (Indianapolis) working out and getting to know these guys. It has been great.”

The Colts, like most NFL teams, on Monday began two weeks of voluntary strength and conditioning workouts as part of the offseason OTAs. The Colts begin minicamp June 17-19, which follows the NFL draft on May 8-10, and White can expect plenty of competition.

He likes his chances even though the odds again seem long.

Imagine that?

“A lot of people think it (biggest obstacle) will be being out of football for a year,” White said. “I can see that, but I like to use the lion and the den analogy.”

In it, the lion goes out to hunt, returns to the den to rest but doesn’t forget how to hunt.

“That’s where I’m at,” White said. “I was hunting at Hillsdale, in the den for 17 months getting bigger, stronger and faster, and now I’m back out here. I think I’ll be alright.”